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With Wednesday's 62-55 loss at No. 4 Wisconsin, the Boilermakers proved they can go on the road against elite competition and respond to adversity. A team seemingly adrift after a three-game losing streak to end the non-conference schedule challenged a returning Final Four squad into the final minute.

The Boilermakers may consider that an accomplishment down the line. In the hallway outside their Kohl Center locker room, they focused on why they settled for a near-miss instead of a signature victory.

"Yeah, there's some positives, but you want to win," said senior guard Jon Octeus, who scored a season-high 15 points. "When you don't win, you have to go back and figure out what you did wrong and then you've got to build from that. I hope that's how we approach that.

Purdue's positives were numerous. The Boilermakers outrebounded Wisconsin 26-21, outscored the Badgers' impressive front line and held their .

But one glaring issue — fouls, and the resulting free throws — probably cost Purdue a chance at the Big Ten's biggest upset so far. The Boilermakers predicted calls wouldn't go their way on their first Big Ten road trip. They likely didn't expect Wednesday's differential.

Purdue was whistled for 24 fouls to Wisconsin's 12. The Badgers thrived at the free throw line, making 25 of 3. Kaminsky (11 of 14) was the main benefactor. Purdue made just 3 of 7.

"You can't control how someone calls it," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "That's one of the variables. I don't think we did a very good job of adjusting to how things were called."

Painter didn't dispute the Flagrant 1 call against Isaac Haas in the first half, though he felt the Badgers earned some post fouls that weren't called. But in their public comments, the Boilermakers looked at themselves more than the officials.

"That's life on the road, man," said freshman forward Vince Edwards, who collected four points, four assists and five rebounds and drew the game-opening defensive assignment against Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky. "We've got to handle adversity. We've got to handle the crowd. We've got to handle everything better."

In a reversal of the season trend, Purdue's foul trouble affected its guards, rather than centers A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas. Starting guards Octeus and Kendall Stephens both sat down early with two fouls. The affliction followed Stephens all night, and he scored seven points in only 12 minutes.

Despite the free throw discrepancy, Purdue stayed within striking distance throughout the game. Each time Wisconsin made a small run and threatened to pull away, Octeus and the centers answered with buckets. With 6:47 to play, Hammons sank a hook shot to tie it for the final time, 45-45.

Trailing 56-52 with the ball in the final minute, Purdue had a chance to make it a one-possession game. But the Badgers didn't let Stephens get an open look. Gasser rebounded the missed jumper and made the first of six straight free throws to ice Wisconsin's eighth straight victory.

"We had a lot of fight in us," said Haas, who combined with Hammons to score 22 points. "I had that good feeling the whole game like we were going to pull this off."

Kaminsky, the Big Ten's Preseason Player of the Year, finished with 21 points. Painter said the game plan was to keep him off the free throw line. It was one of the only parts of the plan that Purdue didn't fulfill.

"We kept fighting, we didn't just give up, and that's one thing we can take out of this," Edwards said. "We've got to be more disciplined in more areas down the stretch. They gave us a chance to win, and we didn't take it.